Misconduct Interviews

Police Staff who are subject to a misconduct investigations will be interviewed by Professional Standards Department (PSD) as part of the investigation. These interviews are often undertaken by detectives who are serving police officers and will be very similar if not the same as a criminal interview. These interviews will often be recorded and later […]

How many bites of the cherry?

Police Staff are probably under the most stringent scrutiny and procedural process than any other employees. At present we can be subject to a criminal investigation, an Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation, a misconduct procedure and vetting all at the same time. If an employee is acquitted through criminal process, they will usually […]

Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) Investigations

IOPC investigations continue to be an area of concern to our members. Very often the involvement in these investigations is a cause of great anxiety. Members are always concerned and worried about the potential outcomes of such investigations which is often the cause of the anxiety. Reassurance is of vital importance to members who are […]

Dealing with the effects of post-traumatic stress

Many of our members work with the public in the best and worst of situations. Our call management staff can be dealing with a missing from home one minute and a murder the next. Very often our call management staff are the first port of call for those intending to complete a suicide and the […]

Race Religion and Belief a new strategy

There is now more than ever a need for our service group to refresh its strategy on Race Religion and Belief. The representation of BAME members in branches, regions and national bodies is woefully poor. UNISON operates a system of self-organised groups for Women, Black members, Disabled members and LGBT members. This system is well […]

Maintaining the pressure on sexual harassment

Conference commends the Service Group Executive (SGE) for its successful campaign on eliminating Sexual Harassment in policing. Working in partnership with the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC), the union has been able to establish strict guidelines and standards for the police service. As with most things, there is often a flurry of activity and interest […]

Increasing access for young workers to training and professional development

Conference notes that austerity has seen local authority spending on in work training slashed as staff development budgets have been cut back to the bone. In social care private sector providers focused on making profits provide the bare minimum of opportunities for training. There has also been a shift to online and distance learning and […]

LGBT – the + factor

Conference celebrates UNISON’s work over the past 25 years to promote women’s equality and participation and to tackle sexism and sex discrimination at work, in our union and across society. Like other service groups, the local government service group has a majority of women members and our rules and practices to encourage women’s participation are […]

Councils at breaking point – highlighting the damage

Conference notes that cuts to local government services are biting ever deeper and deplores the damage they are wreaking on local services and our members who work in them. The impact on our members includes job losses, increasing severity and complexity of service user needs, and reduced pay and terms and conditions. Our members are […]

Divest from Carbon Campaign – Save our future, save our planet

Conference recognises the real threat of climate change to our planet. According to the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, (IPCC) human activities are estimated to have caused approximately 1C of global warming above pre-industrial levels. The Paris Agreement sets out a global action plan to put the world on track to avoid dangerous climate change […]

Local government apprenticeships – same work, sub-par pay

Conference notes that apprenticeships are increasingly the way that young people in the UK enter local government as a profession, providing a structured way to recruit those fresh into the workforce by combining part-time education with the work they’ll be doing once the apprenticeship is completed. Conference further notes however that, while some local authorities […]

Food Standards Agency – pay, terms and conditions

Conference notes that our members’ employed by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) have not had a decent pay rise since the coalition and the Conservative governments took office. Civil servants are under extreme pressure due to Brexit but are told there is no money for them. Conference also notes that government cuts and austerity have […]

Education funding formula

UNISON Northern Ireland is pressing for greater transparency in the Education Funding Formula. The funding of education in our region is as complex as the governance arrangements. The total amount to be spent on schools is called general schools budget and is made up of three categories of spending: 1)The aggregated school budget available to […]

Undermining of terms and conditions

UNISON in Northern Ireland represents thousands of workers in the education sector and plays a leading role at the regional bargaining tables on behalf of our members. These workers are the cooks, the cleaners, the maintenance and admin staff who are the backbone of the further education, primary and secondary school support services. Together with […]

Double jeopardy – the impact of local government cuts on women

Conference notes that the impact of austerity and cuts to local government funding is particularly hard on women – the workforce is predominantly female, many of whom who are low paid. Conference also notes that there is a double jeopardy for these women. As well as bearing the brunt of cuts in pay, terms and […]